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Deere Stock Reaps Gains on Strong Q4 Report

Shares of Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) stock were up 3% in morning trading today after the company thrashed analyst estimates for fourth-quarter revenue and earnings. Management also issued surprisingly strong guidance for fiscal 2014.

Revenue fell 3% to $9.451 billion in Q4, resulting in $2.11 of profit per share. Analysts had been looking for $8.68 billion and $1.89 a share, respectively. For the full year, Deere revenue grew 5% to $37.795 billion. Per-share earnings improved 19% to $9.09. Both figures easily surpassed Wall Street's targets.

"During the year, Deere continued with a record number of product introductions and completed seven new factories, in Brazil, Russia, India and China," Samuel R. Allen, Deere & Co. chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "These products and additional capacity are essential to helping the company expand its global customer base and realize its long-term business objectives."

Looking ahead, Deere acknowledged some challenges to the agricultural business that feeds its coffers. Sales of agriculture and turf products are expected to fall 6%. The good news? Construction and forestry sales are expected to improve 10%. All told, management forecasts $3.3 billion in 2014 profit. Wall Street had been targeting just $3.04 billion, according to estimates from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

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Tim Beyers first began writing for the Fool in 2003. Today, he's an analyst for Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova. At Fool.com, he covers disruptive ideas in technology and entertainment, though you'll most often find him writing and talking about the business of comics. Find him online at timbeyers.me or send email to tbeyers@fool.com. For more insights, follow Tim on Google+ and Twitter.